Refined Design

A hot product designer has a studio sale

We?ve admired the handsome, handmade charm of the interiors at Silverlake?s Black Hogg and Melrose Avenue?s Osteria La Buca. They employ wood and bits of industrial steel in clean-lined and elegant ways. We found out they?re designed by the same guy, the dramatically named Brendan Ravenhill, a sculptor and product designer who?s having a studio sale tomorrow afternoon.

We?re doubly excited. Just seeing the Echo Park space where Ravenhill dreams up his build-a-better-mousetrap products (a bottle opener made from a nail, C-clamps repurposed as shelf brackets) would be impressive enough. But tomorrow we?ll have a chance not only to poke around his work space but also to buy his best-selling hex lamps (regularly $400) and bar stools ($500) at deeply discounted prices.

While Ravenhill has received a lot of attention for his powder-coated iron dustbin (it?s got a dust pan for a lid and comes with a magnet-attached broom) that?s sold at West Elm, our favorite pieces are reminiscent of midcentury French master Jean Prouvé, such as the Cord Lamp ($150) and the sturdy upholstered Black Chair ($400) we love from Black Hogg.

We?re showing up at noon sharp when the sale starts to be sure to get a piece of this rising L.A. design star.